{"title":"Aja Monet","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"aja-monet-when-the-poems-do-what-they-do","title":"Aja Monet - when the poems do what they do","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"aec-body\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-md-10\" id=\"aec-main\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aec-product-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\" id=\"aec-product-description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aec-desc-review collapse\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eaja monet's poems are a work of gravity. They are a fundamental for which all things are attracted, considered upon and enacted towards. Her work moves, constantly, between origin and outcome, allowing them to exist in converse. In her debut album when the poems do what they do, we glimpse her indefatigable commitment to speak. Those thematic origins of this album at times center around Black resistance, love and the inexhaustible quest for joy.In when the poems do what they do aja monet appears as a woman of letters and storm, her poems do not roar in pentameter - but rather in storm surge because, \"Who's got time for poems when the world is on fire?!.\" And this work isn't one to pull apart into one liners, these are poems of things felt. There is a fullness here that can't be encapsulated in even the boundaries that language offers. aja monet is a griot, a storyteller, a chronicler, and your grandmother telling you about her first love all at once. These are baby making poems - literally the spring enacting upon the cherry trees. These are poems of urgency and want and the rallying cry to demolish the insidious systems from which our futures seem to be wrought, in other words, \"If we had a sense of humor we'd be more radical. More migrant than citizen we'd breathe the air clean and ration our resources...we would melt ALL the guns.\" You will find yourself readying arms because of these poems, and simultaneously mourning the unstoppable loss of names already destined to be immortalized. aja monet crafts a work as she always does, that can be entered from many doors. These aren't poems for poets, but poems for everyone.She is joined in effort on this album by musicians Christian Scott (trumpet), Samora Pinderhughes (piano), Elena Pinderhughes (flute), Luques Curtis (bass), Weedie Braimah (djembe) and Marcus Gilmore (drums). Together creating music that is insistent and unrelenting. There are songs reminiscent of jazz club virtuosity and melee, others of a healing balm in gilead, and the chords of Castaway move like that of the call to intercessory prayer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eReleased \/ \u003cb\u003e06\/09\/2023\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCatalogue \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDSW-006LP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e617308043815\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eAja Monet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLabel \/ \u003cstrong\u003edrink sum wtr\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGenre \/ \u003cb\u003eJazz\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40644275634237,"sku":"JAZ-M-617308043815","price":37.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/files\/DSW006_380px.jpg?v=1686060787"},{"product_id":"aja-monet-the-color-of-rain","title":"Aja Monet - The Color of Rain","description":"\u003cp\u003eAja Monet is a Surrealist Blues Poet, recording artist, and bandleader whose work moves fluidly between poetry, music, and political expression. Emerging from New York City’s Lower East Side spoken word scene, she became the youngest recipient of the Nuyorican Grand Slam Poetry title before expanding her practice into genre-defying musical performance rooted in jazz, blues, and experimental sound.  Her debut poetry album, when the poems do what they do, earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2024, positioning monet as a singular voice in contemporary Black music and performance. The project blends poetry with live instrumentation and improvisation, exploring themes of resistance, love, and joy through a collaborative, ensemble-driven approach. As a touring bandleader, she has performed at major festivals and venues worldwide, including Newport Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Guggenheim, Lincoln Center, the Barbican Centre, and Fremantle Biennale.  In addition to her recorded work, monet is an acclaimed poet and author. Her first full poetry collection, my mother was a freedom fighter (2017), earned a NAACP Image Award nomination for Poetry. Her most recent book, Florida water, published by Haymarket Books, draws from several years living and organizing in South Florida and continues her exploration of place, movement, and collective memory.  Her honors include the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for Poetry, the Nelson Mandela Change maker Award, the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award, the EBONY 100 Artist in Residence Award, and the Malcolm X \u0026amp; Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award. She also serves as Artistic Creative Director for V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, and is the creator of VOICES, a 2022 audio play amplifying the stories of Black women across the diaspora and the African continent. Aja monet’s sophomore studio album, the color of rain, will be released in May 2026 on drink sum wtr.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cb\u003e0\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e5\/22\/2026\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCatalogue \/ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eDSW-029LP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e617308007343\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eAja Monet \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLabel \/ \u003cstrong\u003eDrink Sum WTR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGenre \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cb\u003eJazz\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43202263744573,"sku":"JAZ-M-617308007343","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/files\/DSW029.jpg?v=1779118794"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.plaidroomrecords.com\/collections\/artist-aja-monet.oembed","provider":"Plaid Room Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}